Tobias Knight was a lawyer who resided of Bath and served as the governor's colonial secretary. In 1711 Knight became a member of the North Carolina Colonial Council. In 1717 he became North Carolina's chief justice. The following year, after Edward Teach, also known as the notorious pirate Blackbeard, was killed, evidence came out that implicated Knight and he was charged with abetting Teach in piracy. Knight died before the trial could be settled on June 11, 1719.